Making Rounds
by firerwolf
Summary: Commander Kelly Shepard makes her rounds through the Normandy SR2 to talk to her team.ME2. I don't own anything from the game series, does have some spoilers for ME1 and 2. I would like reviews of any kind, though this is my first time writing Mass Effect.
1. Shepard

Commander Kelly Shepard sat at her personal terminal in her quarters. This place was nicknamed the loft and Shepard rather liked it. She was the only person on this level so it let her have some time alone. She switched off the screen, having already read her messages. She glanced at her desk frowning as she realized how little there was. She had a small case that showed the medals she'd received in her service. Many of them she'd gotten when she'd fought Saren. Looking back those days seemed so simple compared to what she was dealing with now.

Shepard brushed a bit of her lose brown hair out of her eyes. Her mother had sent her a message back when she'd become a Specter telling her that she looked like she never brushed her hair. She just didn't have time for that. Really she did brush her hair, it just never stayed very neat. She frowned down at her black and white uniform. She needed to change them, maybe some blue. Blue reminded her of him. It was the reason why she'd made her armor blue, keeping black accents. She'd liked the style and that was all that mattered.

She glanced a bit to the left of the awards and frowned at the picture. She reached out and grabbed the top of the frame, moving it so that the picture was face down. She didn't want to see his face. Sure, it had been two years and he'd thought she was dead, but she'd at least expected a more happy reunion. Oh well, it didn't matter now. So Kaidon hadn't wanted to be a part of her team, she would do fine without him. Besides, she had a better man to love. She made a note to have the picture replaced some time with one of her new man.

Shepard turned her gaze to the area a bit over her desk, looking at the ship models that she'd bought so far. She had been given the model of the Normandy, but she'd bought the others on her own. She frowned at the model she'd bought of Sovereign. She wasn't sure why she'd bought it, and if this fight got as bad as the one against that reaper, she might end up destroying it out of frustration. She glanced toward the model of the Destiny Ascension. She remembered ordering the human fleet to protect the ship, to save the council.

Shepard frowned as she thought of the council. She didn't understand how after Sovereign they could still believe that the reapers weren't real. They had seen it, the fleets had fought one and killed it. There were only more where that came from. She didn't know how many times the council was going to have to find out she was right all along before they were going to trust what she told them. At least they would stay out of her way while she took care of the Collector threat.

Shepard stood from her seat, trying to get her mind off of the current problem. She moved down a bit in her room, glancing to a small table beside her bed, frowning at the partially destroyed helmet that she'd displayed there. She remembered that day, the day she died. She remembered telling Kaidon he had to make sure the crew got out, that she'd save Joker. She would have said something more if she'd known she wouldn't see him for two years. Then again, things had worked out for the better in her case. She remembered going to the pilot's seat, forcing Joker out of his seat and to the escape pod. The next part was a bit fuzzier. Something blew up and she hit the release. She had to save her crew. They had always been loyal and she wouldn't let them die. After that, she remembered floating and then the painful suffocation as her airline broke and she fell toward the planet with the rest of the ship.

It was good now to know it had been a collector ship that had killed her, that now she could properly pay them back for what they did, for the twenty members of her crew that had died on that ship. Shepard clenched her fists, hating to think of those dead. So quickly she had lost so many. She'd made it through all of the fight against Saren and only lost Ashley, but just like the collectors killed 200% more than the Geth and Saren ever could.

Shepard shook her head, trying to remove such old thoughts. Things were different now. She didn't like it, but she was working with Cerberus. She hated them, still didn't trust them, but what was important was that they stop the Collectors and they were willing to fund the operation and give her new information to find and stop them. Once she had beaten the collectors, she would find out what was really going on and stop the Illusive Man. She knew he was trying to pull her strings, but she wasn't really all that easy to get to play along. She wasn't in it for the advancement of humans like they were. She wanted to stop the collectors, and the reapers they were working for. Not for humanity, but for all species.

Shepard moved over to the side of her room, staring into the tank where the innocent fish where swimming about. She hit a button and the system deposited food. She turned and moved back toward her desk, looking up cage that had been put on one of her shelves. There was a tinny little black hamster in its little home, sitting there in the darkness. It sort of reminded her of the reapers, but unlike the machines this mouse was scared. That was why it was in the shadows, trying to stay away from stronger things. She'd affectionately called the little creature Shadow Broker. It was sort of a stupid name, but she didn't care. She liked it and after all she was the one commanding this ship and its crew. She'd call her hamster whatever she wanted.

Shepard though of the crew and smiled a bit. They were all so loyal and they were truly surprising at times. They always had her back and she enjoyed talking to them. Each was an asset to her team. She turned toward the door and left her room, heading to the elevator. She'd go and talk to some of them. That was a better use of her time.


	2. Grunt

Grunt

The elevator doors opened into the engineering level of the Normandy. She looked out into the hanger where there were several kinds of vehicles down below. She turned to her left and walked down the hallway. The door slid apart before her and she stepped in, looking over to the crew member that lived on this part of the ship.

He wasn't like any krogan that Shepard had ever seen. She'd seen krogan of many different colors, but the odd blue colors of his scales parts and the tan of his skin looked odd. All krogan had the tan skin, but it was the color and appearance of the scaled parts that was odd. While most krogan had a single plate from their forehead to the top of their head the krogan wasn't the same. He has a series of smaller plates, which maybe at some point would grow into one plate, but she doubted.

The krogan turned toward her and perked up a bit. "Battlemaster, tell me you have new enemies for me to fight." The korgan shifted eagerly. He was always ready for a fight and Shepard understood. He wasn't born like most krogan. He'd been created and raised in a tank, an experiment of an old krogan trying to make the perfect krogan. This was that krogan.

"I'll be sure to take you out the next time we have a mission. Right now we're trying to figure out where our next move should be. I can't send you after enemies until we find some." Shepard smiled a bit. She watched as the krogan paced a bit. "All right, you only pace like that when there's something on your mind. What is it, Grunt?"

Grunt shook his head a bit and finally stopped. "I've just been thinking. I have all these images, these memories of good kills in my head that Okeer left. I've decided I don't want these memories. Yes, they are good kills." Grunt flexed his hands a bit. "The thing is they aren't my kills. I get that the rush of battle is great, I love it. I want my own memories, my own good kills."

"So you want me to find you a proper challenge?" Shepard crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. Grunt had seemed happy with his memories of kills before. She wasn't sure what had brought on this.

"Yes, I want you to find me something proper to kill." The krogan laughed a bit. "Though I do have some good memories from the trial. How good it felt to take down our foes, the way it felt to take down the thresher maw." There was true joy in Grunt's voice as he spoke. "You took me there, you found me those enemies. I'm even willing to fight through the weak just to get to that one good kill."

"I'm glad to hear that, Grunt. I'll be sure to find you something good to kill, if I don't get to it first." Shepard smirked and Grunt returned a slight smile.

"You know, I asked around, spoke to that turian you keep talking to. He was a part of your team before. He tells me that you and Urdnot Wrex used to be teammates. That at one time you were his battlemaster." Grunt seemed rather excited by this prospect.

Shepard thought for a moment. "I don't think I would have said battlemaster. He was one of my soldiers, and a damn good one at that. He was a merc at the time and just looking for a fight. I'm actually glad to see all that he's done. Urdnot needed a good leader like him."

"I just find it hard to believe that my battlemaster used to be in command of my clan leader. I can see though why he followed you. You are powerful. With your help I was able to kill a thresher maw, just like him." Grunt shifted a bit, obviously enjoying the memory. "I keep going back to that memory. I want more of those memories. I want many good kills to remember."

"Well, I'll see what I can do on the next mission. I had something I wanted to ask you about." Shepard moved over to a small desk and leaned against it to be more comfortable.

"Ask away, battlemaster," Grunt urged.

"After we killed the thresher maw you got requests for breeding. Do you have any want to go back and do so? I'm willing to have the Normandy head in that direction," Shepard offered.

Grunt stared at her for a moment before he spoke. "I don't really think that would be a good idea. They just want to use me for my strength." Grunt moved over to the window overlooking the hanger. "Besides, I don't know if I truly earned it." He looked to Shepard who waited for him to explain. "I killed that thresher maw with your help. Either you are so strong that you could have killed it even without me or I am that strong."

"How do you know that they just want to use you?" Shepard asked.

"They want my strength, just like that one clan did. They see that the thresher maw was killed, they think that means that just because I might father their son it will make them great, get them more pull. That is the only reason they requested." Grunt growled a bit in his anger.

"How do you know they don't only want to add your strength to the krogan race? If you were to pass on your strength, you would be passing it on to your entire species. Only the strongest get the honor of fathering the young. Or maybe they think that strength will increase the likely hood of a viable pregnancy." Shepard could think of other reasons, but they were all reasons that she didn't think would be considered by a krogan.

"How will you know that it was your strength? Want to find another thresher maw and fight it alone?" Shepard suggested.

Grunt shook his head. "No, when we defeat the collectors, if I come back alive, then I will know that it is my own strength. Should give me a few good kills along the way anyways." Grunt moved back over toward Shepard and stood before her. "Battlemaster, I have a request."

"Ask away, Grunt."

"It's about the salarian that is on board." Grunt shook his head a bit, as though trying to shake off some thoughts. "He looks at me weird sometimes. I'd like to know why it is that he looks at me."

Shepard crossed her arms and frowned. "Why do you think he's looking at you oddly?"

"Maybe he's afraid. I know that my people are known to hate the selarians and turians. Though your turian seems to have no fear of me attacking him." Grunt shrugged a bit, indicating that he wasn't really sure. "I just want to know why. Can you find out for me?"

"Sure, I can ask him about it. Though I'd like to know if he does have reason to fear you, or if Garuss has reason to." Shepard moved away from the table to stand before the genetically perfect krogan.

"Absolutely not, Battlemaster. I realize the turian belongs to you and I would never attack something that belonged to you. If they are a part of this team, as long as they follow your orders and you don't order me to attack them, they have nothing to fear." Grunt bowed a bit, showing that she was the one in charge.

"All right, then I'll talk to him. I'll also see if I can find you something to kill." Shepard nodded to the krogan and turned, moving out of the room and back into the hallway.


	3. Jack

ME2 Jack

Shepard stood before the doors, listening to the mechanisms as they moved back. The metal slid open and she moved forward. She moved over the walkway and turned to the right, heading down a set of stairs. She wasn't sure why anyone would want to live down here, but she didn't think she could really judge. She spent most of her time nearly being killed and she was working with Cerberus when she hated them. That didn't leave a lot of room to judge.

Shepard found her team member sitting where she always was. Jack wasn't like the rest of the crew. She didn't want to be around them, didn't really want to be friends, but Shepard wasn't surprised. Just looking at Jack told you she wasn't friendly. Her entire body was covered in tattoos. As she'd informed Shepard some of them were from prison, some from good kills, and some were just for the hell of it. Her head was shaved and she wore a sleeveless black shirt. When Shepard had first met her she hadn't even had that much on, and the bra made out of some belts she'd been wearing had looked like the most uncomfortable piece of clothing she'd ever seen. She'd been glad to finally see Jack in some proper clothing.

Jack finally noticed her and frowned. She always did that. She didn't like chatting, but Shepard tried to make time to check up on all of her crew. "What do you want?"

"I want to be sure that everything's all right down here. You aren't really the best at communication. I'm pretty sure that if a pipe burst and spilled steam into this area you wouldn't tell me anything." Shepard motioned toward the large number of pipes that lead to the Mass Effect core.

"I would fix them myself, or I'd leave them be and start charging people to come down here and use it as a sauna." Jack smirked a bit at the idea. "Now why don't you tell me why you're really down here?"

Shepard shrugged. "I'm making my rounds. I'm kind of wondering if you'd be willing to share some more stories with me."

Jack's smirk fell and her brow furrowed. "So you want a story time? Why is it that you're so interested in my past? You're always asking about it. Why don't you go bother your boyfriend and leave me be?"

Shepard made a note to figure out who was spreading the word but she didn't let it show and she didn't let it faze her. "He's probably busy. Calibrating or something like that."

"Then why not go talk to him and try to convince him to calibrate you?" Jack teased. It was like a defense for her. If she was attacking the other person she felt safe. Shepard understood where it came from. She'd been a prisoner when she was just a child, and sense then she'd been used by people for her power and incarcerated many times. When Shepard had gone to get her she'd been in cryo containment to keep her from busting out. After seeing the three giant mechs that she'd taken down with her biotics Shepard understood why there had been so much security.

Shepard knew what the other woman was trying to do. "Stop trying to change the subject." Shepard moved over to a small box and sat down to be more comfortable. "This crew is vast and diverse. On this ship we have Asari, Turian, Selarian, and even a Krogan. Working with me has taught me how different and similar they all are. How all of us just struggle through the same problems." Jack crossed her arms, still waiting for the point. "The point is, Jack, you aren't the same."

"Well, I am happy to not be grouped in with the cheerleader and it's great to know that I'm the freak among freaks." Jack was obviously getting agitated now.

Shepard shook her head. "That's not what I mean. I mean that the rest of them are, well they don't have the same sort of past. The rest of them didn't grow up with the hard upbringing that you did. None of them have done anything like what you've done. I mean, crashing a space station into a Hanar moon. Not many people have done that."

"So that's what you're interested in? You want to know more about the crimes I've done? That's a bit of a surprise. You seem to always be trying to be on the middle ground, the good guy in a fight." Jack, smirked a bit at that.

"Trust me, plenty of bad things have crossed my mind, but I understand that as the leader of this ship, I don't have that freedom. If humanity wants to be anything other than a bully that's only given hollow power in the intergalactic world our leaders have to appear to be good people. I sometimes wish I could be like you, Jack. You don't play nice with everyone, and I really don't like playing nice with the council, but I have to for humanity."

"Why?" Shepard was surprised by Jack's question. "Why do you have to represent humanity?"

"Because I'm a Specter. The first human Specter at that. The council put a lot of trust in me to represent humanity. I have to live up to that. I don't know why me, but that's the way it is." Shepard still didn't really understand why it was that she'd been chosen to become the first Specter. "Maybe I was chosen for the same reason Cerberus put so much money into saving me. Something that they see and I don't."

"The council should be kissing your ass. They're only alive because you gave the order to save them." Shepard was surprised to find out Jack knew that. "Hey, I've got friends on the Citadel. They told me everything that happened. I was in that prison for some time. Guess I missed all the fun."

"I think you would have greatly enjoyed fighting Saren and Sovereign. We destroyed a lot of Geth, killed an ancient plant thing that looked like a mutated heart, and hunted down a rogue Specter. Guess it's not really all that different from what I'm doing now. The council didn't really help me with Saren, just told me to find him. They aren't really helping us with the Collectors, just ignoring the fact we're using Cerberus."

"Using? You really think we're using them and they aren't using us?" Jack snorted a bit. "You're too naive. They're going to get whatever they want out of all of this."

"I've seen the carnage of what they've done. Seen the affect it has on people, seen the people they've killed. I don't trust them at all, not in the slightest, but if I can use them to stop the Collectors, then I will. After that, who knows? Maybe I'll steal the Normandy and head back to Alliance space, see if they're willing to take me back."

"Good luck getting the cheerleader to go with that. I could throw her off a cliff on a mission if that would help." Jack seemed eager at the idea of throwing Miranda to her death.

"Might be better if we just strand her on a planet. I don't think Jacob would give us trouble. He seems to be on our side. At least he'd leave peacefully I think." Shepard thought about that. "Though after we finish this, I own him a drink on the Citadel."

"All right, I'll help you with that, as long as I get a drink as well." Shepard nodded and Jack relaxed. "You know whenever you come down here I always think 'oh great, she wants to talk again. I'll tell her to go to hell'. Instead, we end up talking. How do you do that?"

"I don't know. Guess I'm just a people person. I've never really felt uncomfortable around people and for some reason random people like to talk to me. I'll walk down a street and hear someone talking about a problem. Even if all I do is just take a few steps toward them sometimes they ask me to help, sometimes I offer. They don't turn me away. They just accept that I'm there to help them." Shepard shook her head. "Not that I'm saying that you need help, but I understand that at times, all you need is someone to be interested. Do you think that before you and I would talk with each other that you would have saved that man back at the base? Would you have been able to pity him and see that he needed some compassion shown to him."

"Compassion? Didn't really think of it that way. Just saw him as a sad little man who wasn't strong like I was." Jack turned her gaze toward the ground. "I don't really want to think about that place any more. Maybe next time you come down I'll have thought of a good story to tell you. Maybe a prison I've been to or a good heist."

"I'd enjoy that, Jack. Can't even fathom the sort of trouble you've been in." Shepard nodded and moved back to the stairs to head up to engineering.


	4. Tali

ME2 Tali

Shepard moved through the doorway into engineering. She only ever came down here to see the people here. As she walked in she was met with two familiar backs facing her. The two were always hard at work, and she appreciated their dedication to their positions. It was often fun to hear the conversations they had before they noticed her. She had no such luck today. They looked back at her as she entered. "Oh, hello there, Commander," the man said in his familiar Scottish accent.

"Hey Kenneth. How are you and Gabi doing today?" Shepard smiled at them.

"Oh, we're doing just fine, ma'am." Gabi seemed surprised by the greeting. "We were just running check on those new fuel cells that you gave us. They'll give us a lot more range to explore the systems."

"That was the idea. Well, I'll let you two get back to your duties." Shepard nodded to them and moved away from the pair. She could hear them whispering to each other behind her. Something about how Kenneth was surprised she called them by their first names.

Shepard turned her attention instead to an old friend who she was glad to once more have on her ship. The Quarian was hard at work, cleaning up the engine. Shepard was sure she was a great help to the others as she had been on the first Normandy. Quarians lived their entire lives on ships so they knew a lot about them. They knew how to repair any kind of ship. Shepard had learned a lot from actually visiting the flotial, the collection of ships that made up the Quarian group.

The Quarians had a long and difficult past. Long ago they had created the Geth, who had been VI but had become aware AI a long time ago. They rose up against the Quarians and forced their creators off of their planet. Since then the Quarians had been nomads, just living on the ships of the flotilla. It was a large collection of small ships and one large ship that was their main ship.

The interesting thing about Quarians were their suits. They had to stay constantly in a clean suit or else they would get infections and illness that would ravage their weaker immune system. Tali had always worn her lavender armor and Shepard had never really see what she looked like underneath. In fact, she'd never seen any Quarian without their armor on. Tali had told her that linking their suits environment was the most intimate thing that two Quarians could do. She'd even met a Quarian who had done so when Tali's mother had given birth to her.

The Quarian suddenly looked up from her station and toward Shepard. "Oh, I didn't hear you walk up. I'm sorry, I must have been focused on my task."

"That's all right, Tali. I just came by to check up on you. I know you weren't the happiest after what happened." Shepard had just been glad that the fight with legion hadn't ended in them trying to kill each other.

"It's all right, Shepard. I don't know if I tryst that thing, but I understand why it was trying to warn its people. I mean, I would want to warn my people if the Geth were about to attack us." Tali shook her head. "I'm sure I'll get used to him in time."

"I'm sure you will. Have you heard anything back from the flotilla recently? They get everything cleared up?" It wasn't long ago that Tali had been called back to the Flotila, under charges of treason. Shepard had gone with her, taken her to the flotilla. What she hadn't expected was being Tali's legal advisor. She hadn't expected to find out that Tali's father had been activating Geth to work on them, to create weapons that could destroy them. Luckily they found evidence that would exonerate Tali, though Shepard hadn't used it. Tali hadn't wanted her father to have his name ruined by his experiments. It was just lucky that with a bit of shouting, referencing Saren, and using the sway of the coming threats that she was able to get the council to not banish her friend.

"I haven't heard back from them, though that might be good. It might mean that everything has blown over." Tali leaned back against the consol and shook her head. "I still can't believe what my father did. I keep trying to see reason, but I can't. I didn't ever want him to put the fleet in danger like that for me."

"At some time he lost sight of the fleet. He was focused, wanting to keep his promise. When people get too focused on one thing, they can lose sight of what 's important." Shepard hadn't liked seeing her friend in pain. When they'd found Tali's father, he'd left a recording. One that had apologized for all that he'd done. She remembered hugging the female Quarian to comfort her as she cried over the loss.

"What about you? You're so focused on this whole Collector threat. What keeps you remembering the big picture? What stops the great Commander Shepard from losing sight and focusing only on the Collectors?" Tali's voice was teasing. She was like the sister that Shepard never had, giving her a hard time.

"Oh, it's everywhere else on the ship. You can't tell me that you don't get the gossip down here in the engine room." Shepard smiled at her friend, knowing that she was just teasing her. "Maybe I should sent Kasumi down here. She seems to have all the best gossip."

"For all I know she has been down here. I can never tell if she's around when she's got that cloaking stuff on." Tali shook her head. She stopped, looking to Shepard and then looking away. "You know, I don't know if I've properly thanked you."

"For helping you beat the treason charges. It was my pleasure, Tali. You're my friend, and I wasn't about to allow you to be falsely exiled." Shepard moved over to the railing and leaned against it, facing the Quarian.

"No, not for that. For all of it. For saving me from the agents of the Shadow broken when we first met, for allowing me to help you against Saren, for the Geth data that you gave me for pilgrimage. I want to thank you for your help on Hope's Progress. I know that when they changed my title I was against it, but I have to say, I proudly am Tali'Zorah vas Normandy."

"I'm glad to hear it, Tali. No matter what, you'll always have a place on the Normandy." Shepard moved from the railing a bit.

"Well, It was nice to talk to you, Shepard. I should probably get back to the engines, though." Tali turned around, focusing once more on the terminal before her. Shepard simply nodded and left the engineering area to let her focus on her work.


	5. Samara

ME2 Samara

The elevator opened and Shepard moved into the hallway. This was the floor where most of her crew spent their time. While three of her team had decided engineering was a better floor for them, she had five of her team had chosen to make this floor their home. She thought of where she wanted to start and finally turned to the left, heading to the observation room.

The door slid back and Shepard looked down at the Asari sitting on the floor. She was glowing a slight purple, as she always did when meditating. She had to meditate often, and Shepard understood why. She was a very powerful biotic, and to control that it took a lot of control. Shepard had seen her in action, had seen how strong the Asari was. She preferred that such power was under control.

Samara was what was known as a Justicar. They were the law of the Asari people, sort of like their cops. Though unlike cops they devoted themselves fully to their role as Justicars. They lived by their code and oaths. From what she'd been told they were out to stop all injustice, though she still wasn't sure how much she agreed with their methods. When Shepard had first seen Samara, she'd been killed a mercenary Asari. Maybe Shepard didn't really have room to talk. She'd killed a good number of them trying to get to Samara and had thought nothing of it. Maybe it was because the merc had been begging that she hadn't felt right about it. Being attacked and shot at seemed to justify killing a person. Having someone under your power and beaten…well it just made it feel wrong. She'd always tried to show compassion to people when she had the chance.

The glow faded from around her and Samara relaxed a bit. "Shepard." That was how the Asari always greeted her. It wasn't that Shepard minded, it just annoyed her a bit no one would call her by her name.

Shepard moved into the room, toward the window, so she could face Samara. "How are you doing?" She was still a bit worried that recent events were still weighing on the Justicar.

Samara didn't answer right away. She stood slowly but with a grace and moved to the window as well. "I am still trying to come to terms with what I had to do." Shepard knew exactly what she was talking about, and she didn't blame the alien.

When Shepard had first met Samara she was looking for someone. It was another Asari, which was the only reason why Sarmara had come out of Asari space. Justicars usually stuck to their own species' space, but this was a big enough reason to come. She'd been on Illium searching for the missing Asari. Once Shepard had gotten the name of the ship the Asari was on Samara had decided to join Shepard. Well, she hadn't just joined, she'd sworn and oath. It was an odd thing to see. She'd glowed with the power of her biotics as she made the oath. It had made it all feel a bit more serious. The Asari detective that had been near them had seemed very impressed.

"You did what you had to do. Morinth was too dangerous. She was killing people and you saw the pain she had caused that mother." Shepard was trying to ease what had happened.

Samara looked out toward the stars around them. "I know that I did what I had to, but that does not make it any easier on me."

Shepard wasn't sure exactly what to say. Morinth had been the Asari that Samara had been looking for. They had tracked her all the way to Omega where she was trying to hide from Samara. That was when Separd had learned why Morinth was so dangerous. She was what was known as an Ardat-Yakshi. Adrat-Yakshi were Asari that, when they melded with their partners, sort of their version of sex, they killed their partner. It was a genetic defect that was rare in Asari, but happened. Most of them ended up cut off from the world around them for the safety of others. Morinth had decided instead to run. She'd been killing people and had only recently killed a young woman when Shepard and Samara had come to Omega.

"I do not know what I did to receive such misfortune. I sometimes wonder if my curse is a punishment for my days as a mercenary." Samara turned away from the stars, no longer able to look at the empty space.

"I don't think it was because of anything you did. When you found out about those slaves, you saved them, showing that you aren't a bad person, don't deserve to be punished. Sometimes unfortunate things happen to people who don't deserve it. It's how we handle those sort of things that show who we really are.

Samara smiled a bit. "I decided to cut myself off from the world, from love and family in order to keep from continuing my curse. Three times was too much, no matter how much it hurt me and my partner."

Shepard nodded, understanding. It had taken Samara some time, but she had finally admitted to Shepard that she'd been focused on Morinth specifically because she was Samara's daughter. She was one of Samara's three daughters, who were all Ardat-Yakshi. Her other two daughters had gone into isolation, but Morinth had run. She'd gone out of Asari space, and had started killing. According to Samara she enjoyed killing, and she would never stop.

That was why Samara had come up with a plan, had convinced Shepard it was worth going with. It had involved seducing Morinth, which had been sort of easy. Shepard had just talked about the things that she seemed interested in. Bands, including a band that a guy had said Morinth was into, art, and traveling. Shepard wasn't really all that big on art of music, but she could fake it. It had worked. Morinth had invited her to her apartment. They'd talked for a while longer and then Samara busted in. Shepard had actually been very glad to see the Justicar. She was happy to have found that she wasn't at all mystified by Morinth's gaze like most people.

Samara had come into the room, and the two Asari had started to fight. Shepard could really only stand back and watch the two biotics fight. They'd knocked each other around a bit and then ended up in a standoff. The two Asari were evenly matched and they had both asked for Shepard to help them. Samara had appealed to her good side and Morinth had tried to tempt her with power. In the end Shepard had hit Morinth in the head, allowing Samara to finish her off. Samara was powerful enough for the suicide mission and she couldn't let a murderer survive.

"It's never easy to take the hard path, Samara, but you took it, and you've carried that burden well. I'm glad to know I have a person like you on the team. Someone that can handle the hard situations." Shepard stood from the railing.

Smara smiled a bit. "Thank you, Shepard. After having worked with you, seen how strong of a warrior and kind of a leader you are, that does mean a lot to me." She moved back to the middle of her room and sat down. "I should return to my meditation."

Shepard simply nodded, moving around the Asari and out of the room.


	6. Legion

ME2 Legion

Shepard moved through the hallway, turning to the right down the curved walkway and heading to the medical bay. She waved to Doctor Chakwas as she walked past. She knew the doctor from the first Normandy. The woman had made it very clear she wasn't working for Cerberus. The doctor had been clear that she was only loyal to Shepard. It had meant a lot to her, knowing that although Chakwas hated Cerberus she was willing to stand by her Commander, stand by the Normandy.

The door to the AI core opened and Shepard stepped in. The door shut behind her and she walked toward the newest addition to her team. It was still a bit concerning for her to have the robot aboard, but she really didn't have a reason to not trust him. He had saved them and seemed to be very interested in her. Well they, it, she still wasn't sure how to refer to the Geth. According to Legion the Geth were all one, or at least most of them were. The ones that had been with Sarne were supposed to be different from Legion and the Geth he was connected with.

The single eye of the arched neck and hood head turned toward Shepard. "Shepard-Commander. We are glad that you have come to visit. We wanted to thank you."

"Thank me, for what?" Shepard stopped a bit away from the Geth and crossed her arms. She didn't want to get too close. It was just instinct, after all she'd fought a war against the Geth.

"For making the decision for us. We could not come to a consensus, but you could. We were right to place our trust in you. Thank you, Shepard-Commander."

"Think nothing of it, Legion. I've got a lot of experience killing Geth in my time." Shepard frowned a bit as she remembered the Geth that I'd fought two years ago. I almost wished I could go back to fighting them rather than preparing for a suicide mission after having already died once.

"You allow us on your ship, although we fear you still don't understand that we are not them, we are not the heretics you killed or have fought." Legion shifted a bit, the flaps on the hood around its one eye moving slightly.

"It's just a bit hard for me to understand. I mean, the idea that just a small number calculation is what made them follow Saren is hard. Not impossible to understand, but it's so different from how organics think it will take me a little while to get the hang of understanding it." Shepard wasn't going to lie, it was odd. The idea that it was just a small calculation was the reason why an entire group of Geth wanted to destroy organic life was sort of hard to wrap the head around.

"We also wanted to thank you, Commander-Shepard, for turning us back on. As we have been informed you were given the chance to sell us to the group known as Cerberus. We wanted to take the opportunity to voice our gratitude that you did not take such offer." Legion always seemed stiff. It moved its hands and head as he spoke, but he never shifted into a more comfortable position, which felt odd to Shepard.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you first. You were there on the reaper, and I wanted to know why. I wasn't going to leave you and after you explained a few things I thought you might be a help to the team. I have a lot of good soldiers, of good biotics, but not that many techs. The only other techs we really have are Tali."

"Yes, the Quarian. We wish to express our apologies for what happened. We were simply wishing to give our own a chance to run, not be killed. The data that the Quarian offered in exchange was very satisfactory." Legion's hood flaps moved more franticly. Maybe it was a sort of sign of joy, or many voices all at once all agreeing to what was coming out of Legions…speakers. Shepard still wasn't sure what terms to use. The Geth didn't really have mouths after all.

"Well, as long as you don't do that sort of thing again. Quarians are very defensive about your people. I understand why you did it, drove them away, rebelled. Sort of how I understand why the Krogan rebelled, but understand where they are now. They have no planet, they are walking around in suits and can get sick from any exposure. They live on a collection of old ships that they have to constantly repair. If you had that sort of situation, you'd be defensive."

Legion was quiet for a moment, likely trying to decide what the majority was. "We agree with such statements. With such factors, defense of the fleet would be highest priority. If we were in such position we wouldn't like a Quarian getting information on us. We understand that they might try war against us. We do not want such."

"For the record, they brought it up. We figured out that was really the push behind Tali being called a traitor, tried for treason. I tried to argue them against fighting you. I can only hope they will see reason, see that the reapers are the bigger threat." Shepard hoped that the admiralty board would pull their heads out of the sand and look around to see the real danger.

"We agree. We are aware of the danger of the reapers. We have looked into the reaction to your warnings. It confuses us that they still do not listen to you, Shepard-Commander." Legion shifted a bit now, a bit of an odd thing, as though he was unsettled. "Though it is logical that with no physical evidence they would doubt."

"At least they're letting us do this all without getting in the way. As long as I stay in this system they'll leave us alone. I was right about Saren, they fought Sovereign, and still they ignore my warnings." Shepard shook her head. She was rather annoyed with the council, though she sort of saw Legions point it still didn't change the fact they simply wouldn't listen to her. She'd been right in the past, but the only reason they were letting her do this was because she'd saved their lives.

Shepard looked over at Legion and looked him over. "You know," she started. "After everything with Saren, I never thought I'd be standing beside a Geth crewmemeber. That is without a gun in hand and trying to shot it."

Legion's head nodded just a little bit. "We find that such a conclusion would be odd for you with the history. This unit is the first of us that you've met."

Shepard nodded, and then took a step away from Legion. "Well, I better continue on my rounds of the crew."

"We are here if you wish to speak again, Shepard-Commander," Legion assured her. Shepard nodded and turned, moving out of the AI core room.


	7. Garrus

ME2 Garrus

Shepard moved out of the med-bay and turned around the corner, heading directly to the main battery. So maybe there was a bit more speed to her step, and maybe she was a bit more excited to see him than anyone else on her ship. Maybe he was the only person who she always went to visit when doing her rounds. That didn't mean anything. Well, maybe it did, and maybe the crew was talking, but she didn't really care much. If she was going to go on a suicide mission, she could have a little affection. She moved up the walkway to the door and it slid back.

His back was facing to her, the blue of his armor the same as what she'd chosen for her own armor. Not so much to match him, although she always took him into the field with her, it was more because she liked the color. He stood where he always did, where for so long he'd fed her lines about calibration and she'd been forced to hold back snappy comments that at the time she wasn't sure he'd approve of. Shepard moved a bit around him and raised an eyebrow as she looked at the datapad on in his hand.

"Doing some reading?" The truian nearly jumped when she spoke. She smirked a bit as he tried to hide the device from her view, keep her from seeing what he was looking up.

Finally he calmed down, realized it was her, and relaxed a bit. "Oh, Shepard, I thought you were someone else." He still kept the screen away from her view. So it was something he didn't even want her to see.

"Hey there, Garrus. What ya reading?" She took a step toward him and Garrus seemed nervous. He wasn't super skilled with human advances. He just didn't know what to do. He had agreed to their little plan to 'blow off steam' but he still seemed so nervous around her.

"I was just…doing some reading." Garrus shifted a bit nervously. So likely whatever he was reading had to do with their relations. Well future relations. They hadn't done anything yet. Garrus had insisted on waiting for the right time, before everything went to hell. Hopefully this time she'd know when things were going to go to hell. She hadn't expected after Ilos to be sent through the relay to the Citadel, though she was so glad she'd brought Garrus with her for that fight. "Shepard?"

Shepard snapped out her thoughts and shook her head. "Sorry, Garrus, I was just thinking. Thinking about the fight with Saren. I was glad that you were there by my side when I faced him."

"It was my pleasure, Commander." Garrus' features fell a bit, a sad look for a Turian, thought it wasn't easy to tell. Shepard had just gotten a lot of practice reading Garrus' face. "You know, when that debris fell toward us, when it hit and then we couldn't find you." Garrus shook his head. "I thought you were gone." There was a tone to his voice, one that spoke of something Shepard hoped was there. He cared, and she could tell that he would have been hurt if she wasn't there, if she'd died that day.

"Well, it was a close call. It nearly did get me, but I was just glad to see that you and Liara were all right." Shepard moved to lean against the terminal that Garrus was usually working on. "That wasn't my day to die."

"But two years ago was." There was a sorrow in Garrus' voice, and Shepard reached over, placing a hand on his arm. "I'm sorry, I know that it's not as big of a deal to you, but…well that day you died. For many of us, it was like losing the thing that had made us, losing a family member." He paused for a moment and stared at her. "Losing someone we cared about. I can understand why Kaidan was upset, but I can also understand why it's not as big of a deal to you. You weren't alive, just woke up two years later."

"Yeah I woke up after two years, everything having changed, the Collectors attacking humans, a new Normandy, two of my former team, an AI on my ship, a new crew, and a list of people that might be able to help me. I'm just glad that they had sense enough to had the Archangel on the list." Shepard let her hand fall from his arm, though she missed the contact.

Garrus tried to regain some of his professional demeanor, though it was pointless. That was for combat, and here, alone in the main battery, she thought of him as anything but professional. "You know that is partially your fault?" Shepard raised an eyebrow and waited for Garrus to explain. "You showed me that rules and regulations were standing in my way. My place was working where those wouldn't hold me back. That was how I could truly make a difference. You showed me how much one person could do."

"I didn't beat Saren on my own, or did you forget all the other fun times we had together. Fighting the Thresher Maws, beating mercenary groups, fighting the Geth, and fighting Cerberus?"

"Given any other Commander and we couldn't have done all of that. We would have failed long ago. Besides, it's not about the things we've done, it's about the way you inspire others. Look at Wrex. He's uniting the Krogan clans, and even if he won't admit it, you inspired him to try. You're an amazing woman, Shepard, and one I'm honored to know." Garrus let out a slight laugh. "I mean, what other woman could be killed by the Collectors, be revived by Cerburus, who is her enemy, and then use that enemy to save more human lives? All of this after already having taken down a rogue Specter and a Reaper." Garrus chuckled a bit. "My point is, you inspire people to do great things. When you were lost, the rest of us realized that we no longer had you to guide us. I for one, wanted to honor what you taught me, and tried to make a difference in the one place in the universe that needed it the most."

"So you're saying that my death spurred you to eventually become the Turian Batman?" Shepard found that a bit hard to believe, but then again people did see to trust her, believe in her, even if at times she had trouble believing in herself.

"Well, I'm not sure what Batman is, so I can't exactly agree or disagree with that statement." Garrus shook his head a bit. "I'm a bit rusty on human culture."

"Batman is a sexy crime fighter who's considered vengeance in the night, stopping crime wherever he finds it. He's a vigilante, beating up gangs and mopping up crime. He's cleaning up a city that's neck deep in crime and the cops just can't get the job, so he uses his intelligence and fighting skills to do what they can't." Shepard explained.

"Well, there are several things that aren't exactly right in that, but I can tell that you find the idea of me being this Batman…attractive, so I'll agree." Garrus smiled a bit.

"Excellent, you can be Batman, and I'll be Catwoman." Shepard smirked, though Garrus just looked confused. "She's Batman's...on and off partner. She sometimes helps him stop the bad guys, and sometimes she's a lot more than just a friend to him."

Understanding seemed to cross Garrus' face. "Well as long as she's an attractive, smart, strong, trustworthy woman, then I'm sure that she's the perfect description of you."

"Well, she's not exactly trustworthy. She's a thief by trade," Shepard explained.

"Well then, that's what separates you from her. Though I'd have to say cat doesn't seem good enough. Maybe I can call you, Patherwoman, or…Lionwoman or something?" Garrus grumbled a bit. "I can't think of a brown feline."

"I don't know if there are any, Garrus. Are there any on the Turian home world?" Shepard asked.

"You mean on Palaven? Not that I can think of, though maybe a cat isn't even enough for you. Or maybe it's right. Doesn't your species believe that cat's have many lives?" Garrus had obviously been studying a bit of human culture and beliefs.

"That's an old saying. Cats have nine lives, but it's not actually true." Shepard glanced a bit to the side and saw that the screen was now loosely held at Garrus' side. Maybe she could grab it from him. She was about to make a reach for it when Garrus spoke again.

"Maybe then a cat is right for you. Maybe you did die when that stuff hit after Saren, but you came back to me. You died when the Collectors attacked us, and you came back to me then." Garrus' hand moved out slowly and gently touched her arm. "I can only hope I survive this upcoming mission, so when you come back, you can come back to me."

Shepard couldn't help but smile a bit. "It would be nice to have something to come back to. Something truly worth fighting for." She smiled up at him and her hand slowly moved up to his face, fingers gently running over the scars on his face. "You're the best friend I've ever had, Garrus."

"You are the one person I will always trust, Shepard. Even after everything that happened, I'm willing to throw myself through a relay that destroys every ship that goes through it as long as I'm at your side." Garrus hesitated for a moment, then put the screen on the terminal and wrapped his arms around Shepard in a hug.

Shepard hugged him back, resting her head against his armored chest as her arms moved around his neck. "You know, hugging seems like a very un-Turian sort of thing to do."

"It is, but I understand that it is a show of affection, friendship, and the bond between people for humans." Garrus released her hesitantly. "It was…nicer than I expected."

"Well, glad to know that contact with me doesn't disgust you." Garrus was stunned and Shepard took her chance, she grabbed the screen off o f the terminal before he could stop her. The Turian tried to grab her but she held the screen away from them, turning her back to him and putting her body between Garrus and the device so she could see what he'd been reading. Garrus grabbed her around the waist with one arm, the other reaching out for the datapad to try to stop her from seeing. Shepard blushed a bit as she saw the screen. "You're looking at Turian/Human porn?"

Garrus groaned and she felt him relax against her back. "It's not like that. Mordin sent me those messages about…well about the information he had, and somehow Joker got a hold of information and sent me those." Shepard had to twist her head around at a sort of uncomfortable angle in order to see him. "I just want to make sure that…I don't mess up. I told you I was going to do some research."

Shepard relaxed in his arms, which had both wrapped around her waist. He moved the screen back and put a hand on one of his around her. "Well then, I guess that means that you'll have to take the lead, cause I don't have the slightest idea of how it does." Garrus relaxed his grip around her waist. Shepard turned in his arms and reached over, placing the screen back on the terminal.

They stood together for a few seconds and Shepard just looked up at him. Garrus Vakarian, the former C-Sec agent turned Turian rebel. How much he'd changed since she met him. No, that wasn't true. This was always the Turian inside him, but now he wasn't restricted by rules and regulations. He'd found the strength inside to be more than most Turians could ever even hope to be.

His arms slipped from around her and Garrus took a step away. She sighed, understanding. The time wasn't right, and even though she was starting to hate waiting, as she was finding more and more that she would like some comfort from someone she trusted, she understood. "Well, I should…continue my rounds."

"Right." Garrus' voice held a bit of disappointment. "I've…I've got some…"

"Calibrating to do?" Shapard teased, hoping to ease away some of the disappointment.

"Very funny, Commander. You know I am very skilled in hand-to-hand combat." Garrus was back to his cocky self, which was good. They'd eased back into the way things usually were.

Shepard moved to the door and it opened up. "Yeah, yeah Vakarian. You may have the reach, but I promise you, I have the flexibility." She smirked at him and let the doors close between them, leaving the amused Turian to himself. Good, she'd left with a positive note. That might make her next stop a bit more bearable.


	8. Miranda

ME2 Miranda

Shepard stood at the door, waiting for it to slide back. The door opened and she walked in, still in a happy mood so she didn't mind who she was going to see. She walked up to the desk where the woman was typing away. Probably typing up a report of the Illusive man as she was his operative, the one who was supposed to report to him.

The woman looked up from her work, smiling a bit at Shepard. She was never sure if Miranda was actually happy, or if she was just faking it because she'd learned to. Shepard probably wouldn't have any problem with the woman, if she weren't working for Cerberus and acted like they could do no wrong. She always turned a blind eye to the bad things Cerberus did, which annoyed Shepard.

What annoyed her as well was that Miranda was basically physically perfect. Sure, that wasn't natural, but a guy didn't care about if it was natural, only that every curve was in the right place, her smile, eyes, hair, and figure were all beautiful. Not to mention she was a strong biotic. It was a deadly combination, though really Shepard felt that either Jack or Samara were better choices for biotic power. She also wasn't afraid either of them would stab her in the back. With Miranda she was just never sure.

Shepard had learned to not hate her as much, and maybe even start trusting Miranda, but she wasn't sure, wasn't clear on if Miranda was working for her, or the Illusive man. She just didn't want to end up finding out that all along Miranda was planning for Shepard to die on the mission, to be the only one out alive. She worried about the rest of the crew, about their fate. If Miranda did turn traitor, what would happen to all of them.

"Commander, is there something wrong?" Miranda frowned a bit as she looked up at Shepard. It seemed to be genuine concern.

Shepard sighed and moved over to the couch beside the window. "I need an honest answer from you about something, Miranda." Shepard watched as the other woman moved over to sit on the chair nearby. "I need to know if you're really on my side. I don't want you to be offended, but I have seen the bad Cerberus can do, and I need to know that you are working for me, not the Illusive man, on this mission."

Miranda shifted a bit, as though trying to decide how she felt about the question. "Can I ask you a few things first, Commander, before I answer?" Shepard nodded. "Why is it that you can't see that Cerberus has changed?"

"Because I know that it doesn't happen that fast. Two years isn't long enough. You didn't see the things I did. The soldiers lead to the Thresher Maw just to lure it out, the Vice Admiral killed by them, lying in that cage with those husks about, the Private who they'd tortured with Thresher Maw venom. I don't trust them because of those things they did, while pretending they weren't that awful. I know that the people who helped you were nice to you, but look at what they did to Jack. How much action are they taking just to keep you and us in line?"

"I can't believe that the Illusive Man would do that. He saved me from my father. I know that what they did to Jack was wrong, but they've changed. That was a long time ago. Jack is just blaming them for old wounds. I know they've changed." Miranda's voice sounded desperate, as though she needed to believe it.

Sadly, Shepard couldn't let her hold onto fantasies, not when their lives were at stake. "Miranda, what they did was wrong, and they did it so they have to pay for it, including one pissed off biotic who's excessively strong. Maybe you're looking at things too black and white." Mrianda frowned a bit and waited for Shepard to continue. "Maybe some part of it is good, like those that helped you, but maybe it also has the dark sides. It's a possibility that them being nice to you might even be a dark side."

"I don't see how that could be dark. Saving me from a life I hated is a good thing, not bad." Miranda obviously didn't like the direction that things were going. Just great.

"I mean maybe they saw how much potential you had, and realized that being nice to you was the way to get you on their side. You're a strong woman Miranda, and not in genetics of biotics. You're a strong willed woman, very independent. What they did to those other people, they were low level, not as strong as you are. They could force them to do things, but you, they had to convince you to be on their side. They could only force Jack to not run because she'd been a kid, and they'd shown her that powerful biotics meant that you couldn't hold them forever."

Miranda contemplated it for a few seconds before speaking. "I do feel bad about what happened to Jack. No one should ever have been treated like that. I want to believe that Cerberus is doing the right thing, and we don't have proof that they aren't. I admit that they have a dark past, but why is it so bad I want to believe they are good now?"

"I'm not asking you to give up faith in them, Miranda, I just need to know that if it turns out they want to do something that will get us all killed when we go to the Collector base, that you'll be on the side that's trying to save the team, not just do what Cerberus wants." Shepard was trying to be as clear as she could. "I just need to know that if the Illusive Man told you to shoot me because I wanted to save my crew rather than do something he wants, would you do it?"

"Shepard, I know that in the end, you'll destroy that base. There is nothing else that Cerberus could ask of you, but I think I get your point. If such an order were given, no, I wouldn't shoot you. I know that you'll do what needs to be done to stop the Collectors, and do what you have to in order to save the team, including me." Miranda smiled. "You came to my aid to help my sister when I needed you the most. Most other Commanders would have told me Cerberus could handle it, but you, you let me go there, stood by my side, and even convinced me to finally go talk to her. She and I have been writing back and forward to each other."

"I'm glad to hear that Miranda. You care about her a lot, and she deserved to know that you were there, trying to look out for her." Shepard smiled a bit.

"My point is, Commander, that you proved to me how much this crew means to you. I'm more ready now than ever to join you in fighting whatever we may fight. If you were really Cerberus, you would have just made me stay away, and then who knows what would have happen. After that, after what you did and gave me, I'd be willing to follow your orders above anyone else. I still believe that Cerberus is doing good, but on this mission, for this team, I will follow your orders."

Shepard stood up and smiled down at the other woman. "That's all I needed to hear, Miranda. I'll let you get back to your work."

Miranda nodded and stood, moving back over to her desk. Shepard turned and walked out of the office. Well, that had gone a bit better than she had expected.


	9. Thane

ME2 Thane

Shepard moved along the ship and toward a door across from the men's bathroom. It was the life support room, and the location of the last teammate on this level of the ship. He was sitting at the same table as always, meditating. It was very important to his culture, and she often just left him to it, though she wanted to see how he was doing.

Thane was a Drell, and the first ever that Shepard had met. Apparently they weren't supper common and they tended to stay with the Hanar. The Drell had nearly killed off their own people, over populated and used up their own planet. If not for the kindness of the Hanar the Drell would have ended up killing themselves off. It had been the Hanar who had made Thane into what he was, an assassin, and a damn good one at that.

Most of Thane's reptilian skin was a yellow-green color, though there were places where it differed. There was a spot of black on his forehead, his lips were a light pink, and the sides of his head, under the ridges where Shepard always figured their species used to have gills or something the skin was a red color. He wore all black clothing. His hands were clasped before him, as if praying to a god. Shepard understood they had many gods. Though Shepard had never been one for religion. She did know that what he practiced was the old religion of the Drell, not the beliefs of the Hanar or the Asari like most other Drell.

There was one thing about Drell spirituality that Shepard did find interesting. The Drell believed that the body and the soul were two separate things. A soul was only responsible for what it consciously chose to do. Many of Thane's kills had been done when his soul had lost touch with his body, meaning that his body had been a tool for others, and he wasn't held fully responsible for what happened at those times. Shepard wished she could believe that, but she'd never believed that every life she'd taken wasn't something she'd done consciously.

Thane was one of the more interesting of the crew. He was a dying Drell, afflicted by Kepral's Syndrome, which was slowly killing him. As he had told her, he was trying to make up for all the bad killing he had done, and joining her to stop the Collectors was another way he could atone for the bad. Shepard respected that, though if she now started to try to make up for all the death she'd caused, all the mercenaries, Geth, and crazed biotics she'd killed in the past, well, she'd need five lifetimes to really atone.

Thane had explained to her that it wasn't every kill he was trying to atone for. Many of his kills as an assassin were only something chosen by his body, jobs done without the consent of his soul. It had been very big for the Drell to inform her that the reason why he was atoning was because of a few particulars. He had killed a group of people who he'd found out had been the ones to murder his wife. Thane had told her in some detail about his wife, about how he'd met her when he was about to shoot a target, but she stepped in the way and stopped him. He told Shepard how his wife had been killed because of his work, how he'd consciously found and killed those that had killed her. They were the kills he was atoning for.

Shepard moved around the table and sat down across from him. "Greetings, Shia." Thane smiled a bit, his great black eyes focusing on her. It was always a bit off for her, since she couldn't always tell where he was looking, sort of like when talking to a Salarian, but she understood more of what Thane talked about than Mordin.

"You keep calling that, but I still don't know what it means?" Shepard shook her head a bit, still not having gotten an answer of what Shia was. She didn't know if it was a translated religious term, of if it was a Drell word before translation. Thane smiled, as though enjoying he knew something she didn't. "I was wondering if you'd heard from your son."

It hadn't been long ago that Shepard had taken Thane and Garrus to the Citadel to find the Drell's son. They'd gotten word he was there to do an assassination, follow in his father's footsteps. Shepard still wasn't sure if it was because he wanted to be close to his father, or if it was just all he could do. He wasn't really as skilled as Thane, but he'd almost completed the hit on the politician. They'd managed to stop him, and he was helping out C-Sec now rather than being in jail. Thane had told her he'd talked to his son, and that they were going to keep in touch.

"Things are getting better. He and I are still writing, and I feel that his anger toward me had faded. He is doing good honest work now, and I am sure that he is heading down the right path now. Thank you, Shia, for your help to find and stop him." Thane shifted his arms so his clasped hands were resting on the table. "He sends you his thanks as well. He feels that you greatly helped him when you stopped him. I am glad that I trusted you to help me."

"I'm always there for the people of my team, Thane. You needed help, of course I was going to help you. I understand that you were worried about him, wanted to be sure that you were all right and that your son found a path that he could live peacefully following." Shepard really was glad for Kolyat. The young Drell had a future ahead of him, and any person she could turn away from the same painful life that her and her crew knew that consisted of just fighting, than it was a victory. Particularly since Drell had perfect memories, something that caused Thane much of his guilt.

"So, should I try one more time to ask what Shia means, or am I just wasting my breath?" Shepard crossed her arms, smiling a bit. She didn't want to put too much pressure on Thane to tell her, though she really did want to know.

Thane was silent for a moment, as though trying to decide if he should tell or not. Finally he spoke and his gaze turned toward the table. Though Shepard could only tell because his head angled down. "Shia is one of the warrior-angels of the goddess Arashu. Fierce in wrath and tenacious protectors. That is what you are, and that is why I call you such. Never before had I met someone who so embodied the word."

"That's very kind of you, Thane. That's a very honorable name for you to give me. I'm not sure if it really fits, but I'm honored that you think of me as such." Shepard had never even felt that being a Specter was something she was worthy of. She was trying to do her best. Though she'd admit that being a Specter had helped her greatly in doing her job.

Thane shook his head. "No, the name fits you perfectly. You have fought the Geth, Saren, and now the Collectors, so you truly are a warrior. You are an angel in that when we needed you the most, you rose up above all others and saved us. You are preparing to set out on a mission to destroy the Collector base, the group who killed you before, and they will see how fierce your wrath is. The last part, well, that is a simple part. You are protecting all species, trying to stop the Reapers. You may not feel worthy of the title, Shia, but you are worthy."

Shepared smiled and stood up. "Thank you , Thane, that means a lot to me. I should let you get back to your meditation." Thane nodded and once more moved his arms so that he could continue to meditate. Shepard left the room, leaving him to it, smiling a bit.


	10. Jacob

ME2 Jacob

Shepard stepped off of the elevator and looked around the combat level of the ship. The galaxy map snapped on, though she ignored it. She didn't need the Normandy to go anywhere right now. It just always turned on when she was near. A woman standing to the side of the steps up to the map looked toward Shepard. "No new messages, Commander."

Shepard nodded to Kelly Chambers, her yeoman. Chambers always told her when she had new missions or when the Illusive man wanted to talk to her. It was helpful to have someone who could alert her. There wasn't any real indicator on her private terminal so she would probably forget if Chambers didn't alert her.

Shepard turned to her left and moved to the door to the armory. She stepped in, looking around. She could see a weapons locker, and tables all around where her weapons were set out. She moved over to her heavy weapon table and smiled at the collection of weapons. She frowned slightly at the sort of pinecone looking gun that was the Collector Beam. It was a damn useful weapon, but every time she held it the thing just didn't seem to fit her hands right. Then again, maybe that was the point. It wasn't made for a human.

She turned her attention away from the weapons and spotted her teammate who was in the room. She walked over and leaned against the table in the room behind him. "Hey there, Jacob. How are things going?"

Jacob turned around to face her smiling a bit as he leaned back against the work bench he'd been working on. Jacob was a good looking man. His skin was a perfect shade of brown that would have been what people had in mind when African Americans had been nicknamed chocolate. He was well built, having been Alliance before he joined Cerberus. Shepard could see why Kasumi liked the man, or at least was attracted to him. If she didn't have a good hearted Turian a deck below she might fall to the temptation of the man before her.

Jacob smiled at her in that friendly way. Jacob was like having a proper soldier on board. He sort of reminded her of Ashley, in more than one way. "Things are going well, Commander. I was just upgrading a few of the weapons with a new mod we were given."

"Good to hear. One good thing about having wealthy backers is that they can get you the nicest equipment." Shepard really didn't mind that. State of the art lab, top of the line weapons, and she need only ask for things and she'd get them.

"Yeah, the money's good to have coming in, but I'm guessing you still don't like Cerberus." Jacob wasn't defensive about it. He knew what Cerberus had done, and he wasn't completely loyal to them. He'd just taken the position because he'd felt the Alliance was too restrained by regulations. Shepard got that, it was the same thing Garrus had found a problem. The thing was they all looked at her as though she was breaking rules and regulations, as though she weren't held back by the orders of others or laws, but they just really didn't have to worry about that. They only followed her orders, not realizing that she was their red tape now. Not that she didn't have a habit of finding things she could do that made a difference that the regulations just didn't cover. She still had to deal with the council on the Citadel. Even under Cerberus she was supposed to be doing as the Illusive man asked, not that she really cared. They had the same goal in general, and she was just using him.

"No, I still don't like them. I see what they do to soldiers like you." Shepard shook her head a bit.

"And what do they do to soldiers like me?" Jacob crossed his arms over his chest. She couldn't tell if he was joking with her or seriously wanted her answer. She decided to go with the latter.

"They take good, honest soldiers, and put them into positions where they think they're doing good. Then those soldiers find out years later that what they were guarding was torture or cruel experiments." Shepard thought of the Private, shaking with a pistol to a scientist's head, talking about how Cerberus had tortured him.

"But what I've been guarding hasn't been bad. Unless you're trying to tell me something. I joined up and was put on security to protect you while they were brining you back. I think that's a noble thing to have done, and I'm not ashamed of it. Right now, the argument could be made I'm not working for Cerberus, just standing on the back of Cerberus with my Commander while they carry us to the Collectors so we can kick their former Prothean now insect butts." Jacob smiled and relaxed a bit, uncrossing his arms. "I was head of security, which meant that I got access into all the labs."

"So then you went to look what they were doing there?" Shepard was surprised. He hadn't really told her much more about his time with the Lazarus project.

"Yeah, went into all the labs, made sure there weren't any humans being worked on. The only thing I really found out was that you were our only project. That entire station was just to make sure you survived, were brought back. I was proud to be a part of it." Jacob looked away from her. "May seem stupid, but I wanted to be remembered as someone that helped. Someone that was part of the team that brought back the great Commander Shepard, first human Specter."

"Jacob, you're going to be remembered for a lot more than that. You're going to be remembered as Jacob Taylor, the man who was a part of the team that destroyed the Collector base. That will be something to remember." Shepard smiled back at him. She knew he was trying so hard to do something great because of the past, and not really all that distant of a past. "I meant to tell you, I got a message from one of the women of your father's crew." A frown spread on Jacob's face. She knew he didn't like remembering what was happened. "She wrote me a message, the one that gave us the datapad with all the information. She said she's doing better. She was writing to thank us."

"You mean they might recover? I'm still worried that what my father did to them will never really go away, and they'll always be like that. No one deserved that, and I can't believe he would do that to his own crew." Jacob's voice was thickening with anger. Shepard didn't blame him. His father had fed his crew food from a planet that was poisoning them, destroying their minds, and had used the women as he saw fit. Shepard was just proud of Jacob from walking away from all of that, for being able to see he was a better man.

"I know that you're still mad about what happened, but take some joy, Jacob, in the fact that those people are finally free from all of that," Shepard reasoned.

Jacob thought it over for a second and then nodded. "I guess you're right. We did some good for them, and maybe they'll be able to find a way to help them, to cure whatever that food did to them. Thanks again, Shepard, for letting us go down there. You know I've never had a CO that was a personal as you."

Shepard shrugged a bit. "What can I say, I'm a hands on kind of woman. Reports can only tell you so much. In person you can find out a whole lot more." At least that was what she'd always thought.

"Well, I should get back to these mods. Have to have them ready for the next fight." Jacob stood up tall and saluted. "Ma'am."

Shepard saluted back though not as formally. She was used to being saluted, but it was still a bit formal to her. She knew this crew so well, it felt like she was just friends with them when not in combat, and then they would go and salute and it would sort of ruin it. Shepard turned and walked out the side door, heading to the lab and the last member of her team.


	11. Mordin

ME2 Mordin

Shepard entered the lab for what would be her final stop for her rounds. The room was clean and neat, as she expected a lab to be. There was a research terminal that Shepard often used to purchase upgrades for the Normandy, armor, or weapons. She'd scanned planets all over just to find the resources for the improved shields, armor, and cannons that she hoped would save her crew's lives when they went through the relay.

Shepard's attention was turned to the Salarian scientist. He was busily typing away on a terminal, probably analyzing some Collector data they'd gotten or inventing something new. Shepard moved over toward him and he stopped turning his attention toward him. "Commander. Hope information I sent you was helpful."

Shepard fought not to blush as she remembered the information. Mordin, after finding out she'd been interested in relations with Garrus, had sent her information about human/Turian mating and positions that would be comfortable. "Well, we'll see how useful they are when the time comes."

"Very well. Need something. If not, should get back to research. Fight against Collectors will be hard. Must be prepared, have ever edge." The Salarian spoke quickly and in curt words. Shepard had talked to other Salarians who spoke nothing like Mordin. She wondered if it was because he was thinking so fast that his speech was struggling to keep pace, or because he was older than most Salarians even lived for. His age showed on him, scars on his cheeks that Shepard had never asked about. While most Salarians had two of the hone like flesh on the top of their heads, Mordin had only one. The other was a stub, maybe cut away by some lab accident or something. It was something else that she'd never asked him about.

Shepard was about to tell him there was nothing in general, until she remembered her earlier conversation. "Actually, there is something I need to talk to you about." The Salarian watched her in those short head movements he did when examining a situation, great black eyes vanishing behind eyelids for fractions of a second as he blinked. "It's about Grunt."

"Ah, the prefect Krogan. Excellent genetics. Don't understand Okeer's plan, but wonderful creation. Strong, purely Krogan." Mordin paused for a moment and his voice became a bit sad. "Still effected by genophage."

"Yeah, that's our Krogan." Shepard pulled him back to paying attention to her. He seemed to snap out of it and turned his attention again to listening. "Grunt thinks you're giving him odd looks. He believes you are afraid of him, but he doesn't want you to be because you're a part of the team, kin." Shepard hoped she was explaining it well enough. "Why do you keep looking at him."

Mordin's gaze fell away from Shepard. "You know my work. Altered Genophage." Mordin started to pace a bit, shaking his head. "It was necessary." He stopped and looked to Shepard. "Having second thoughts."

"Wait, you said that the Genophage was for the good of the Krogan. It kept them from over population. You seemed pretty sure of what you'd done when we were on Tuchanka." Shepard didn't get it, or maybe she did. Salarians had short lives, shorter than humans. They might change their minds faster as well.

"Seen the pain of Genophage. Seen mothers with stillborn children. Pulls at heart. Partially my fault. See Grunt. See no escape for Krogan from Genophage. See him, think of pain cause by work. Not afraid, just regretful." Mordin looked away again, looking toward some equipment, though Shepard was fairly sure he wasn't really looking at anything. He was thinking of the dead Krogan, the time he spent seeing the effect of the genophage to be sure he really believed in what he'd done.

"So you're saying you're not afraid of Grunt, you just think about all the dead Krogan from the Genophage?" Shepard supposed that made sense. "You know Grunt doesn't even care much about the Genophage."

Mordin shook his head. "Irrelevant. Now who he is, but species. See Krogan, feel guilty. Saw Tuchanka, feel guilt. Krogan lose purpose. Genophage fault. Salarians lift Krogan up to beat Rachni, then knock them down with Genophage. Salarian fault." Mordin fiddled with his hand a bit. "Assistant trying to cure Genophage. Methods wrong, but goal might be best." Modin shook his head. "No, must focus on Collectors. Must have weapons and armor ready."

"Mordin." Shepard moved around the table a bit and stood beside him. "It's all right to feel guilty. I know what it's like to have your choices end up killing people. Sometimes, even when we make what was the right choice at the time, in the end we wonder if we did the right thing. Sometimes we think we've dealt with all of that, with our guilt, but really it just snuck back into the shadows, ready for something to remind us that we felt guilty at some point and allow it to come back and attack us."

Mordin looked down toward the tabletop. "You are right. Past guilt still around. Thought dealt with. Guess not. Will talk to Krogan. Explain not afraid." Mordin turned his gaze back to Shepard. "What choic you make?"

Shepard leaned back against the table and looked out the small window of the lab. "On Virmire I had to make a choice between two of my soldier. I chose to save Kaidan and Ashley died because of it. I cost several researchers their lives because I wouldn't let a Batarian terrorist go. I've gone to war with soldiers who have trusted me, only to fall in combat. The first time I fought the Geth I right away had one of my soldier killed."

"Never would have guessed. Hold self with confidence. Wouldn't think doubt in any choices." Mordin smiled a bit. "Now jealous of skill to hide guilt."

"Well, only in public. You can't hide it all the time or it will kill you. You have to have someone you can confide that sort of thing in." Shepard knew that she didn't like to hold onto all that pain completely on her own. If she did, it would eat her apart, like it slowly was.

"Turian?" Shepard nodded at the question, knowing that he was asking if Garrus was the person she confided in. "Then you are mine." Shepard looked at him a bit confused. "Person to confide in. Tell you of guilt, helps feel better." A smile tugged at Mordin's lips. "Happy to have trustworthy friend."

"Any time you need to talk to me, Mordin, just ask. I always make time for my crew." Shepard smiled back at him, glad to know that he was happy. That was her main goal. She wanted to be sure all of her crew was happy, that they all felt like she cared, because she did. A team that was happy was also more loyal, and more trustworthy.

"Well, should talk to Krogan." Mordin nodded, as though agreeing with his own thoughts. He moved over to the exit of the lab. Shepard watched him go. Once the door had shut she moved away from the table, heading out the same door. She caught sight of the elevator shutting and was glad to see that Mordin would take care of things. Shepard moved over to the galaxy map, moving up the set of stairs and to the platform. Now, where would they go next?


End file.
